sprawl15:the number of telegraphed messages discussing the state of the union is also at an all-time low since the invention of the telegraph

Hey, at least they get to decipher it. I only read papers that are sold by newsboys in front of old-timey newsstands. I'm still waiting for the SotU to come spinning out of the clouds in thirty-point font.

Uh oh. If the viewership drops below 30 million, Sarah PalinCathy McMorris Rodgers is automatically president, and Obama has to have Joe Wilson and Samuel Alito follow him around and yell at him as he performs mundane tasks.

I recorded it on msnbc and watched after the UK-LSU game was over. And turned that shiat off before the talking heads chimed in. I'm liberal as can be, but I didn't feel they were going to add anything of value. I know what I heard (and didn't hear) and how I feel about it.

Though I have to really wonder how good these numbers are, given that I suspect both the Neilsen traditional numbers and the household surveys skew heavily towards older, more traditional viewers.

Which is, of course, also why FNC always has such high viewership numbers on cable.

Neilsen take a broad sample that includes all demographics, if they skewed heavily towards older viewers, then why does Pro Wrestling and Spongebob generally top the ratings charts? Reruns of Big Bang Theory do real well too for some reason.

Though I have to really wonder how good these numbers are, given that I suspect both the Neilsen traditional numbers and the household surveys skew heavily towards older, more traditional viewers.

Which is, of course, also why FNC always has such high viewership numbers on cable.

Neilsen take a broad sample that includes all demographics, if they skewed heavily towards older viewers, then why does Pro Wrestling and Spongebob generally top the ratings charts? Reruns of Big Bang Theory do real well too for some reason.

skinnycatullus:I recorded it on msnbc and watched after the UK-LSU game was over. And turned that shiat off before the talking heads chimed in. I'm liberal as can be, but I didn't feel they were going to add anything of value. I know what I heard (and didn't hear) and how I feel about it.

The viewership probably dropped because we know what will happen, the President will ask for things, the Republican controlled Congress will roll their eyes and scream class warfare, and nothing will be done by congress to promote the Presidents plan. Instead we'll get another 40 attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, because the black guy made it happen, even though it's mostly what the white guys wanted in the 90s when the Republicans used to offer alternatives (even bad ones) instead of simply obstruction.

I came to ask whether they took online viewing into account, but I see it's been taken care of. If they didn't, that would also explain why Fox had the highest ratings, since I'd expect the web viewers to skew younger, traditionally a less conservative demographic. There's also the punditry angle, as people who are more interested in what Obama had to say on his own would tune in to C-SPAN or whitehouse.gov's streams, while Republicans might be more interested in the conservative pundits' refutation of the speech than in the speech itself, therefore favoring the networks.

A large portion of the South was busy with a snowy/icy Hell of driving for 8 hours just to get nowhere while exits off of all major roadways were littered with jacknifed tractor trailers, terrified children in school buses as well as stuck and/or straight up abandoned vehicles, requiring them to hunt on their phone for an ever dwindling supply of vacant hotel rooms while moving 3 feet a minute on increasingly icy and treacherous roads.

It kind of took precedent over the SOTU regardless of political leanings.